The drone pilot program pairs governments up with private companies to test types of drone flights that are currently banned in the U.S., including flying drones at night, flying over people and package delivery.

The FAA’s drone pilot program, formally called the UAS Integration Pilot Program, was announced in October by U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao. Originally, only five sites were going to be chosen, though ultimately 10 were picked. About 150 sites applied to be a part of the program, according to the FAA.

Over the next two and a half years, the selectees will collect drone data involving night operations, flights over people and beyond the pilot’s line of sight, package delivery, detect-and-avoid technologies and the reliability and security of data links between pilot and aircraft.

That data is intended to help the U.S. government craft new rules around more complex drone operations.

A handful of high-profile drone companies will take part in the pilot programs.

“We’re grateful to the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration for providing us with the opportunity to conduct our most advanced testing to-date on US soil,” James Ryan Burgess, co-lead of Project Wing, said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to working with communities in Virginia to better understand how our drone delivery could be useful in their everyday lives.”

Other companies involved in the new drone test program include AirMap, which is building a software to help manage drones flying through complicated airspace. AirMap is actually involved in six of the 10 test sites. And Uber is working with the San Diego test site to create drone landing stations and ports, according to a fact sheet released by DOT.

Industry experts say the drone pilot program is a step in the right direction for continuing to further integrate drones in U.S. airspace.

“The participants selected for the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program represent a commitment by governments at all levels to safely and efficiently integrate UAS into the national airspace,” Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI said in a prepared statement. “As more and more businesses and public institutions embrace UAS, it is more important than ever to have a process in which states, municipalities and tribal governments can provide input on federal policy without infringing on the U.S. government’s jurisdiction over the airspace.”